About Steve
A multi-sport athlete (soccer, basketball, baseball) growing up in Suburban Philadelphia, Steve made his way to Cabrini University in Radnor Pennsylvania on a soccer scholarship where he earned many honors including Most Valuable Player recognition, and a Distinguished Alumni award for his charitable work in the community. After college, Brown was offered several pro soccer tryouts but then played semi-professionally for a number of years in the Majors Division of the United Soccer League for the German club Danubia.
Steve traded in his soccer shoes and turned his passions to the flexibility of multisport racing in 1987 and has never looked back. Since 1987, Steve has racked up countless triathlons and multisport events of all distances including marathons, ultra marathons, and ironman triathlons and many top age group finishes.
In February of 2006, life threw Steve a curve ball when he was diagnosed with an incurable form of blood cancer known as chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Wasting no time, he underwent four rounds of chemotherapy. He maintained his baseline fitness level, often running home from his treatments and quickly reached complete remission. By July of that same year, he was back to racing triathlons. By September of that year, just 7 months after his diagnosis, “RemissionMan” crossed the finish line of his 8th career iron distance triathlon (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run).
Brown has fought through multiple relapses of his leukemia and each time he has used endurance sports as a weapon in his arsenal against cancer; running home from treatments and racing marathons and triathlons throughout his treatments. To date, Brown has endured 54 rounds of chemotherapy to keep his disease in check.
Steve is a certified triathlon and running coach who also holds Personal Training and Cancer Exercise Specialist certifications. In addition to his busy racing, training, and coaching schedule, he is also very active using his involvement in multisport racing as a way of raising funds and awareness for significant causes. In his “spare time”, Steve works closely with organizations such as CLL Society, Survivor Fitness Foundation, The American Cancer Society, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Grassroot Soccer, and The Leukemia Research Foundation, in promoting and supporting their events. He’s also written several books which talk about everything from fitness and triathlon, to his cancer diagnosis and his passion for living life to the fullest.
Steve and his wife Mary Grace were dealt another health blow when Mary Grace suffered a life altering stroke during brain aneurysm surgery in 2019. This meant that Steve and Mary Grace became each other’s primary caregivers, while being patients themselves. With Mary Grace’s mobility limited, they acquired a running wheelchair and launched Team Relentless Grace to be able to embrace running and racing together.
“I feel my cancer diagnosis has opened many more doors than it has shut and created more opportunities than it has taken away.”
Brown is an accomplished writer whose work has been featured regularly in PhillyFIT Magazine, HealthFitnessBroadcast.com, Philly Health Watch, TransitionTimes.com, Liberty Sports Magazine, Movement Sports Magazine and is a former blog writer for Philadelphia’s FOX29. He has also been a featured guest on several radio, TV and internet broadcast programs.
Steve and his wife MG live in Delaware County Pennsylvania, where they continue to view their health hurdles as opportunities versus limiters, helping others through activism and philanthropic involvement including serving as brand ambassadors as well as patient advocate(s) for several health and pharmaceutical organizations.
Certifications
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Cancer Exercise Specialist
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Personal Trainer
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Group Exercise/Bootcamp Trainer
Qualifications
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30+ year endurance sports athlete
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19-year blood cancer survivor
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Triathlon/Run Coach
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Cancer patient mentor/advocate